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Criss Angel
Christopher Nicholas Sarantakos (born December 19, 1967), better known by his stage name Criss Angel is an American of Greek descent. He is a magician, illusionist, musician, escapologist, and stunt performer. Angel was raised in East Meadow, Long Island, New York. He is best known for starring in his own television show, Criss Angel Mindfreak. ''Criss Angel Mindfreak'' Criss Angel is the star and creator of the A&E Network show Criss Angel Mindfreak. Seasons 1 and 2 were filmed at The Aladdin in Las Vegas, with Season 3 at the Luxor Hotel. Premiering on July 20, 2005, the illusions have included walking on water, levitating above the Luxor Hotel (in the light of 39 lightbulbs that can be seen from space. ), floating between two buildings, causing a Lamborghini to disappear, surviving in an exploding C4 Crate, cutting himself in half in full view of an audience and getting run over by a steamroller while lying stomach down on a bed of glass. Also in season 3 he was known for jumping out of a moving car. Angel was injured and stopped production for 3 weeks. In 2007, magician Criss Angel performed his "chain-supported" version of the illusion on his rumoured then-girlfriend and celebrity guest assistant Cameron Diaz. In 2008, he also performed the illusion on both Pamela Anderson and Holly Madison. ''Criss Angel Believe'' Criss Angel collaborated with Cirque du Soleil to create Criss Angel Believe, a live show at the Luxor hotel in Las Vegas, which stars Angel, who is billed as "co-writer, illusions creator and designer, original concept creator and star." Angel originally tried to develop the show for a Broadway run, as well as other casinos. Eventually, what became Believe came together when he entered a partnership with Cirque du Soleil and the Luxor's parent company, MGM Mirage Resorts, financed the show with $100 million. After several delays, the show was set for a Gala opening on October 31, 2008, with preview shows in late September. The initial preview was not well received, with thoroughly negative audience reactions. The show opened to equally harsh reviews which cited a lack of the magic Angel is known for, as well as a confusing and uninteresting theme. Reviewers felt neither Angel nor Cirque du Soleil were able to perform to their capabilities. On the October 31, 2007 episode of the reality show Phenomenon, Paranormalist Jim Callahan performed a summoning, purportedly of author Raymond Hill, to help discover the contents of a locked box. Although fellow judge Uri Geller praised the performance, Angel called it "comical" and subsequently challenged both Callahan and Geller to guess the contents of two envelopes he pulled out of his pocket, offering a million dollars of his own money to whomever could do so. This led to an argument between Callahan and Angel, during which Callahan accused Angel of being an "ideological bigot", and after Angel rose from his chair and approached Callahan, the two were pulled apart as the show promptly went to a commercial break. Angel has since revealed the contents of one envelope and at the unveiling he challenged Geller one more time. Geller was unsuccessful, and the envelope was revealed to contain an index card with the numbers "911" printed on it for September 11, 2001. Criss' explanation was this: "If on 9-10 somebody could have predicted that 9-11 was going to happen, they could have saved thousands of lives". The other envelope's contents will be revealed on the first episode of Season 4 of Criss Angel: Mindfreak. Personal life Although Angel was seen with his wife in the buried alive illusion (season 1, episode 6, 2005), she wasn't credited as his wife. Rather she was listed as "Criss' Girl". During the divorce proceedings the attorney of Angel's estranged wife, Joanne Sarantakos, claims that their relationship was kept secret to further Angel's career. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20044359,00.html. In November 2008, Angel began dating Hugh Hefner's former girlfrend Holly Madison. References Category:Las Vegas Magicians